Nehemiah 4:4

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.

Nehemiah 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 4:4

Hear, O our God, for we are despised
Here begins the prayer of Nehemiah, who had been informed of what these men said in contempt of him, and his builders, and to whom he sent no answer, but applied to God:

and turn their reproach upon their own head;
as they have despised and reproached us, let them be despised and reproached by their neighbours:

give them for a prey in the land of captivity;
let them be carried captive, as we have been, and become a prey and booty to their enemies.

Nehemiah 4:4 In-Context

2 He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish—and burned ones at that?"

3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "That stone wall they are building—any fox going up on it would break it down!"

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.

5 Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.

6 So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.